Burn
by MaskedMuse
Summary: Petra and Levi join the military at the same time. They do not make fast friends, and takes a lot of losses and heartaches before they can count on each other. Levi helps Petra become humanities soldier, while Petra teaches Levi how to care and love others, even if they might die.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One 

"Welcome to the 97th Trainee Squad! It's always good to see youngsters joining in the fight for humanity against the Titans! This will be a hard four years, but it's just the beginning. Some of you might not make it. Some of you might even die. But those who make it through... Know that you are humanities soldiers!"

The Chief Instructor started making the rounds, stopping in front of random students, humiliating them in front of the whole Trainee Squad. His name was Keith Shadis, and this was his first year as an Instructor. You would never be able to tell by the way he strutted around like he owned the place.

"Oh, and look here! Levi Rivaille, correct?" The young man stood there silently. He was only three people down from myself. His black hair was short and choppy, with an undercut. He was shorter - shorter than me even - and seemed to be the only one not intimidated. Actually, he seemed bored. And he still didn't answer Shadis. "By the attitude I will assume you are Levi. Erwin Smith warned me about you."

"Then he should learn to shut his mouth," Levi said bluntly. All the students within a ten foot radius flinched away from the suddenly yelling from Shadis. It also earned the boy pushups until the boy couldn't support himself.

Shadis watched him do the first ten till he started down the line again. I straightened, clenching my teeth as tight as I could. But even all my hope didn't make Shadis continue. The large man stopped in front of me.

"What's your name, Cadet?"

I straightened, saluting him with my first to my heart. It hit so hard I think I might've given myself a bruise. "Petra Ral from Trost District, sir!"

"And why did you join the military, Ral?"

"To fight for humanity against the Titans, sir!" My voice cracked on 'sir.' I felt my whole face turn red. Thankfully, he took mercy on me. Shadis laughed for a good minute before going down the line. I let out a breath of relief, and looked down to the kid Levi. He was still doing push ups, and had not even slowed down. They only sign that it was actually a work out for him were the beads of sweat forming on his brow.

It was another hour before Shadis finally released us. We all turned, to go back to the barracks, but I paused. Levi was still there doing pushups. He had slowed now, and his jaw muscles were tensed. And sweat plastered his shirt to his back. I would've passed out already, if I were in his position.

"Petra? You coming?" I looked up to Caden, a friend of mine. We had joined the military together. I nodded, with one last glance at Levi.

"I can't believe that guy said that," Caden said, shaking her head. "Dumb ass. On the first day too! I thought he was smarter than that. He's only avoided the police for five years."

"You know about him?" I questioned, raising a brow at the blonde.

"Levi Rivaille? How have you not heard about him?" She gaped at me, and rolled her eyes. "He was pretty much a thug boss in some secret underground thing under Sina. Pretty much screwed with anything he could from the wealthy. Then, finally, they caught him, and gave him the ultimatum that he would go to prison, or join the military. I guess he joined the military. Better choice."

"Wow," I muttered, and looked back at the boy. He was a thug? He wasn't even taller than me! How could he have been a thug boss? As I was about to face forward, he was pushing himself up, arms shaking so bad. Halfway up, his elbows buckled, and he landed face first in the dirt. I looked away quickly.

* * *

When we got back to the barracks, older squad members showed us around. Ours was named Ray, and she was a tall girl, with long black hair and olive skin. She was commanding, and always wore a serious face. She showed us the mess hall, the bathrooms, the infirmary, and finally the stables. She told us that the horses were some of the old horses from the Survey Corps who were now 'retired.' They were still faster than regular horses, but not fast enough for the expeditions anymore. Ray went on to tell us that if we enlisted in the Survey Corps, we would get our own horse.

It was dusk by the time the dinner bell rang. It was surprisingly rowdy in the mess hall, from kids messing around to trying to start fights, to whining about the food, and those trying to make friends.

Caden herself was getting a little too touchy feely with the other cadets. I had been raised inside a conserved home. It was been completely devastating to the whole family when I declared I would be joining the Military. My mother believed I would get good marks and be able to join the Military Police and stay out of sight of Titans. My father believed I would go with the Garrison, where I might have a little adventure now and then. And by adventure he would think using the 3D maneuvering devices to scale the wall to enforce it.

They'd probably faint when they get my letter saying I joined the Survey Corps.

All of a sudden, there was a hush. I looked up, surprised to see Levi. He didn't look at anyone and didn't react to comments thrown his face. he went up to the food line, got his dinner, and exited once again.

"He is never going to achieve a rank of leadership," Caden said, leaning on me, yawning. "Almost a waste of space in here, huh?" "Or he could be amazing," I commented without looking at her.

"Oooh, do we have a little crush on the bad boy?" Caden slung and arm over my shoulder. "Miss little goodie two shoes?"

I frowned at her. "You're ridiculous, Caden." She laughed, and went back to flirt with the boy on the other side of her. Eventually, I got up, and told her to not stay up too late. She waved me off, and I exited to go back to the barracks.

It was dark outside, and about the time I usually went to bed. I stretched, yawning, closing my eyes.

And I ran into someone.

I jumped, losing my balance, and falling right on my butt. I grunted at the impact, and felt the rocks bite into the palms of my hands. I looked up, to see who ran into me, and froze.

It was Levi.

He was looking down at my strangely, like I was some creature he didn't expect to find. After a moment, I just managed to get out, "Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"I can't believe you actually fell," he commented. "Did I scare you that much?"

I stared, not knowing what to say. No sorry? Even if it wasn't his fault it was the polite thing to do. He reached out a hand, and, surprised, I took it. He helped me up, and I noted how he wiped the dirt from my hands off. After an awkward pause - another one - I held my hand back out. "I'm Petra Ral."

With slight hesitation, he took my hand and gave it a shake. "Levi."

* * *

**AN: Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter! **

**I know Petra is much younger than Levi, but I thought this way they can grow and develop and create a stronger bond. So, not everything is going to be like the anime/manga. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

"Pull him up!"

The harness tightened around my body as I was lifted into the air. I kept my balance easy enough, and after a pause, people clapped, and tried to rush forward. Shadis yelled at them, and caught a few in the head as he waved his arms. He grudgingly checked my name off the list.

The other cadet lowered me back down, and I unhooked myself. As I started to walk away, I heard Shadis call me again.

I turned, glaring. He glared back, and pointed back to the contraptions. "I want you on the lever."

"What?" I growled. "I have better things to be doing than to lift these morons up."

"Would you rather do push ups again?" At the mention, I felt the gash underneath my chin, from when I had collapsed. Sighing, I went and took the place of another cadet. And so, for the next few hours, I had to crank all of my fellow cadets up and down.

Some stayed up straight. Others struggled, but just managed to stay upright. And there were those few that tipped over and ate it. It seemed so far, I was going to be at the top of the class. Well, that had been a guaranteed right when I had agreed to Erwin Smith's terms. Other leaders came by to help out on evaluate all the cadet's abilities with the 3 Dimensional Maneuvering Gear. The next in line for mine was a girl named Caden Shaddix, who looked quite confident. They got the harness on, and adjusted it accordingly.

She looked back at me, grinning. "Hoist me up, shortie." I glared daggers back at her, but cranked the lever. Near the top, I jerked it real fast. She wobbled, but stayed upright with ease. It was quite impressive, really.

She laughed. "Nice try shortie! You almost got me there."

"Look, do you wanna-"

"Be nice, Caden!" I jerked to the voice, about to yell at them to shut the hell up, but I noticed it was that girl. Petra Ral. The one that looked at me with hopeful eyes, like I was going to be her friend. Not likely. After I ran into her last night, we went our separate ways. And she was trying to protect me, which was irksome.

"Shut the hell up and get a move on! We have twenty more cadets in this line alone!" Shadis yelled, waving his clipboard at us. I lowered Caden, who gave me a smirk and walked to the side to wait for Petra.

They got the harness on the red head, and clipped the cords on the sides. I cranked the lever up. At first, she stayed balanced, and then tilted and hit face first. Caden helped get her upright as I lowered the cords back down so she could gain her feet. She sat up, with blood gushing out her nose, and from a scratch above her eye. Her brow was already turning purple.

Shadis, merciless like always, just barked her them to unhook her and get her a cloth. Caden, though, had something else in mind. Her hand flew to point at me, and she gave me death glares. "He made her fall!"

"I did not, you crazy bitch!"

"The fuck-"

"He didn't do it!" Petra said, grabbing Caden's shoulder and lifting herself up. "It was me... I couldn't keep my balance." The blonde huffed, sent me another 'Eat shit' look, and the two walked away.

Watching them walk away, I did wonder if I hadn't pulled her up so smoothly. Shaking my head, I pushed that out of my head and hoisted the next person up.

* * *

I walked out of the mess hall. The sun had just set, and I stood on the steps looking up at the moon for a moment. Then I looked back down and continued. It was a small loaf of bread, and some soup with vegetables and what they called meat, but I highly doubted it. And then a small bowl of rice.

I was walking towards the barracks when I heard the trees nearby rustle. Surprised, because it was windy, I looked over. After a moment, I saw the redhead bobbing by some cords.

Surprised, I started over. She was six feet off the ground, to ensure she didn't have the same incident as earlier. She had her back to me, and hadn't noticed me yet. A rope dangled from a higher branch, and we was using that to pull herself up when she tipped over. Clever idea. But where did she get the cables and the harness.

Petra righted herself, and her shoulders moved like she was taking a deep breath. And then she let go of the rope. For just a moment, she stayed upright, and I thought she had it. Then, she tipped over, dangling there like a rag doll. Now she saw me, as she hung there upside down. Petra froze, her eyes going wide with surprise. She hadn't move from her position, as if she was sure I would go away and forget that I had seen her if she just didn't move.

I brought the bread up to my mouth, and took a small bite. As I chewed, and swallowed, I pointed to her foot. "You're not putting enough pressure on the left foot... The harness is there so you can move your body to keep it steady. But just favoring your stronger foot isn't going to help. You need to think like you're on a balance beam. Because you'll be sent home if you can't even do that."

She sighed, sagging even more than humanly possible. "I know. That's why I'm training now! Because I have to graduate!" She said that with such fiery determination. I continued to watch her as she tried again and again, and I ate my dinner, commenting here and there. And what surprised me most was how she took my advice without question and pretty much did it exactly right.

Then why wasn't she getting it?

Again, she hung there, seeming exhausted. She panted, looking up at the stars. I glanced back to see the mess hall's lights were out. It was probably past the time we were supposed to be in bed.

I turned back to see her trying again. "Petra, we should probably-"

"One more time!" She grunted, leveling herself.

I rolled my eyes, and leaned against a tree. And blinked, walking all the way around to see her front. I smirked. So that was it.

Petra tried again, and for the fiftieth time, she failed.

I helped get her down, and I could see tears brimming. I bit the inside of my lip, and put my hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me, surprised. Probably by the contact. I didn't really like touching people... especially when they were all sweaty like her.

"We go again tomorrow... I guarantee you'll get it."

She gave me a look. "How do you know?"

"You'll see. Just don't hit your head so hard tomorrow. I don't want to get blood on my uniform." And with that, I headed back to the boy's barracks.

**A/N: Thank you to those that review and the favorites! I really appreciate it. I'll get chapter three up soon!**


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